National strategy needed to help police respond to calls involving dementia patients
Posted July 8, 2012 1:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Alzheimer Society of Canada says a national strategy is needed to help police officers deal with domestic calls involving people suffering from Dementia.
Some believe dementia is a growing issue in society, and patients can sometimes become aggressive or angry with their caregivers.
Recent stats from the society estimate there is a new case of dementia diagnosed every five minutes.
One woman, Deb Mulligan, called 911 after her husband, who suffers from dementia, threatened her life.
Within a generation, the number of Canadians living with dementia is expected to more than double to 1.1 million.
“In the back of my mind, I knew he would never ever lay a hand on me, hurt me or whatever, but then I also knew that this wasn’t Brian, that this was a sick Brian,” Mulligan said.
The Ontario woman says she doesn’t regret calling the police, but did add that there was no need for police to treat her husband like a criminal.
Naguib Gouda, with the Alzheimer Society of Canada, says it’s critical that we come up with a national dementia plan.
“I think it’s really frightening to imagine what things will look like in a very short number of years if we don’t have a plan,” Gouda said.
